"The Library is Closed for Relocation to 2201 S. Brentwood Blvd. WE ARE BEHIND SCHEDULE." That banner sits across the Brentwood Public Library's website, along with a promise to post an opening date as soon as staff know it. As of Oct. 19, it still didn't give a date.
The good news for anyone with a stack of holds or a kid with a book report due is that your Brentwood card never only worked in Brentwood. It works at eight other libraries, several of them a short drive away, and some of those have longer evening hours than you may expect. The weeks to watch are the ones where every library takes the same day off.
Two opening dates have come and gone
The move itself drew a crowd. On Saturday, Sept. 26, more than 300 library patrons lined Brentwood Boulevard and passed books hand to hand from City Hall to the new building, according to the Webster-Kirkwood Times. The Brentwood School District reported that the "Books Across Brentwood" chain moved 250 books, with students from the Brentwood High School Service Club and National Honor Society helping register people and hand out refreshments. The Times put the whole collection at some 47,000 volumes, and said the human chain moved only a fraction of it.
Here is how the schedule moved after that:
- Oct. 5, 2026. The school district's write-up said the new library was scheduled to open Tuesday, Oct. 13.
- Early October. Library Director Gina Gibbons told the Webster-Kirkwood Times the new location was slated to open in mid-October.
- Now. The library's own homepage says it is behind schedule and gives no date.
That third item is the one to trust. Until the library posts a new date on its site, anything you hear secondhand about an opening day is a guess.
Why the library moved a third of a mile
The library opened in 1952 and stayed inside Brentwood City Hall on Eulalie Avenue for more than 70 years. The Times reports it had about 7,500 square feet and a single meeting space that couldn't comfortably hold more than 15 people. Gibbons said the size of that space limited how much programming the library could offer.
The new building at 2201 S. Brentwood Blvd. is about a third of a mile from City Hall and, according to the Times, will offer roughly double the floor space at 15,000 square feet. It is planned with three meeting rooms instead of one. The largest is meant to hold up to 35 people, and two smaller rooms up to 12 each. "People will want to study in those rooms," Gibbons told the Times, adding that they'll have conferencing equipment and whiteboards.
Here is how the money breaks down, according to the same report. The Brentwood Public Library District passed a tax levy in April 2024 to fund the property purchase, and construction began the following year. The land cost $3.2 million and construction cost $6.2 million. With engineering and other costs, the project came to roughly $10.4 million.
Your card already works at eight other libraries
Brentwood is one of nine independent libraries in the Municipal Library Consortium of St. Louis County, or MLC. The other eight are Ferguson, Kirkwood, Maplewood, Richmond Heights, Rock Hill, University City, Valley Park and Webster Groves. The consortium describes its shared collection as more than 1.3 million titles. On its own site, Brentwood says a valid card from any member works at every other member library. It also says each library sets its own loan periods and borrowing rules, so a checkout in Kirkwood may run on a different clock than one in Brentwood.
These are the five members closest to Brentwood, with each library's posted hours:
| Library | Address | Posted hours |
|---|---|---|
| Richmond Heights Memorial Library | 8001 Dale Ave. | Mon–Thu 9 a.m.–8 p.m., Fri–Sat 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Sun 1–5 p.m. |
| Rock Hill Public Library | 9811 Manchester Rd. | Mon–Thu 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Fri noon–5 p.m., Sat 10 a.m.–2 p.m., Sun closed |
| Maplewood Public Library | 7550 Lohmeyer Ave. | Mon–Thu 9 a.m.–8 p.m., Fri–Sat 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Sun closed |
| Webster Groves Public Library | 301 E. Lockwood Ave. | Mon–Thu 9 a.m.–9 p.m., Fri–Sat 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Sun 2–5 p.m. |
| Kirkwood Public Library | 140 E. Jefferson Ave. | Mon–Thu 9 a.m.–9 p.m., Fri–Sat 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Sun 1–5 p.m. |
A few details make the table more useful. On weeknights, Webster Groves and Kirkwood stay open until 9 p.m., so they're the late option. Webster Groves lists 9 p.m. on its own page, but the consortium directory lists 8 p.m., so call before planning a late visit there. For Sunday afternoons, Richmond Heights, Webster Groves and Kirkwood are all open, and Maplewood and Rock Hill are closed. Rock Hill's site says an MLC card works there and that items from the catalog can be requested for pickup at Rock Hill. That helps if Manchester Road is already part of your errands. Richmond Heights Memorial Library's policy states that a patron in good standing with any MLC library may borrow from its collection.
Two good habits while Brentwood is closed: check each library's own pickup options before you place a hold, and read the due date on your receipt, since loan rules vary from library to library. One more point in your favor is that Brentwood stopped charging overdue fines in March 2020, according to its posted policy. That policy covers Brentwood's own fines, and as noted above, other members set their own.
The holiday dates when the nearby libraries close together
Backup libraries help less on days when most of them close at once, and November and December have several of those days.
- Wednesday, Nov. 11. Richmond Heights and Webster Groves list a Veterans Day closure, and Kirkwood's closings calendar marks the same date.
- Thanksgiving week. Richmond Heights and Webster Groves close Nov. 26 and 27. Maplewood's standing policy closes it on Thanksgiving and the day after. Kirkwood's calendar marks Nov. 25 and 26.
- Wednesday, Dec. 9. Webster Groves closes for a staff in-service day.
- Christmas and New Year's Eve. Richmond Heights, Maplewood and Kirkwood all list Dec. 24, 25 and 31. Webster Groves closes Dec. 24 through 26 and again Dec. 31.
Rock Hill hasn't posted a dated holiday schedule, so check with them directly before heading over on a holiday. If your family plans on a pile of library books over winter break, pick them up the week before Christmas Eve, because Dec. 24 and 25 and New Year's Eve are closed nearly everywhere nearby.
Libby and Hoopla don't depend on the building
You don't need a building at all for digital borrowing. Brentwood's digital collections page lists Libby and Hoopla. The Hoopla entry says access is for Brentwood residents or members of another MLC library. For a book club pick or an audiobook for the commute, the library's apps are the quickest bridge until the doors at 2201 S. Brentwood Blvd. open.
What's waiting at 2201 S. Brentwood Blvd.
When the library first announced the project in 2024, it described a two-story building with more room for community programs, meetings, technology, materials, parking and outdoor space. The renderings on the library's project page are labeled Children's Area, Atrium, Level 2 and Study Rooms. They are design drawings, so the finished rooms may differ in the details.
The bigger change will show up on the calendar. With a planned 35-person room replacing one that topped out at about 15, Gibbons told the Times the library plans to expand adult and teen programming. "I'm imagining we'll be able to bring in lots of speakers or have special series," she said. She also described what the library means to longtime patrons: "A lot of times people come in and we don't even have to see their library card because we know them."
For more of what has been changing around town this year, see our look at Brentwood this fall and our Brentwood neighborhood page. If one of the backup libraries is in your regular orbit, our Richmond Heights, Webster Groves and Kirkwood pages cover those communities too.
I've watched Brentwood grow for more than 30 years, and it's good to see the library get room to match. If you're curious how new community spaces like this one fit into the bigger picture of your block, or you just want to talk about what's changing in Brentwood, call Maureen Q Onder for a local market consult. Let's talk about your goals.
